WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to renew the Export-Import Bank’s charter on Tuesday, but the path for the trade lender’s ultimate revival remained unclear in the Senate, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell opposes it.
The House voted 313-118 to put EXIM back in business writing new loans and guarantees for U.S. exports through Sept. 30, 2019 with some reforms to curb past abuses.
But McConnell said on Tuesday he does not plan to devote any more Senate floor time to EXIM, adding that the bank’s backers could try to attach a renewal bill to a highway funding measure.
The Lakeshore’s two US House Representatives were split on the matter, with St. Joseph’s Fred Upton voting for the measure, saying that “the bank is an investment for Southwest Michigan and communities across the country.” Zeeland’s Bill Huizenga, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, disagreed, saying that the “Ex-Im Bank has been the poster child of both the entitlement mentality and corruption.”
(Reporting By David Lawder; Editing by Sandra Maler & Gary Stevens)
